Jyoti Jagtap, accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case, and Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, have tested positive for COVID-19 among 38 other inmates in Byculla jail.
A prison official, requesting anonymity, said Sudha Bharadwaj and Shoma Sen, also accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, have been vaccinated but have fever and an upset stomach.
They have all been kept in a quarantine centre at Patankar School opposite Arthur Road jail. Rapid antigen tests were conducted on the inmates and some of those infected are admitted to JJ Hospital, St. George Hospital and GT Hospital.
The tests were conducted on 350 women prisoners, 225 men prisoners and 60 prison staff, out of whom 40 women prisoners tested positive. The Byculla prison has the capacity of 462 prisoners (262 women and 200 men), but presently, it houses 306 female and 203 male inmates.
Ms. Jagtap is an artiste belonging to Pune-based cultural group Kabir Kala Manch who was arrested from Kondhwa on September 8, 2020. Ms. Mukerjea, a television executive, was arrested in August 2015 and has been lodged at Byculla jail since then.
